Asia Pop Comic Convention 2015 Experience

Asia Pop Comic Convention was one of the most awaited conventions in the Philippines by many fans. There were a lot of celebrities, online personalities, and others that were invited as guests for the event. So many nice booths were stationed there too, there was even an artist alley. It was a three day event, from September 18 until 20, at the World Trade Center, Pasay.

I only attended APCC on the second day, September 19, for various personal reasons. I got to APCC pretty early. By early I mean around 8:30 am. The parking was still spacious but there was already a REAALLYYYY long line to get in. I figured that I should eat breakfast first and wait for the doors to open so the line wouldn’t be as long. So I crossed the street and killed some time in the nearby Jollibee, spending time with my fries and spaghetti meal. When I got back to the event, the doors were open and they were letting people in, BUT THE LINE JUST GOT LONGER.

I didn’t mind lining up because the line was very organized. There were a lot of marshals that supervise the lines, not letting them in too crowded so there is ventilation. They also stop people from cutting in line and facilitated a fast flow of line and even assured people via announcements that the line was indeed moving and there are no delays. With just that, I was very impressed and I didn’t feel an ounce of irritation with the event organizers.

Inside the WTC lobby, they had set up different booths for those buying tickets and those who bought the tickets online. The line for buying tickets was intense while there were almost none for those who bought tix online. It was startling to see that line because usually the line for buying tickets to an event stop being so long, or disappear altogether, after lunch. Not so in APCC. Straight until 5pm, the line to buy tickets was still the same length amount as that morning.

When I finally entered the hall, it hit me that this was the biggest comic convention I had ever attended, in both the area of the place and the enormity of the event itself.

APCC were featuring a lot of activities in the event! There was an alley for artists and for them to showcase and sell their merchandise, an inflatable HUMAN FOOSBALL arena, tables for the guests to do their meet and greets, and screens where Star Wars trailers and e-game tournaments were showing. There was a Hulkbuster armor displayed where you can have your picture taken inside the thing, the doodlers community were doodling on white Mini Coopers, galleries for figurines, booths selling different merchandise, companies showcasing their games, and a LOT of other stuff.

After the quick ocular around the place, I immediately headed towards Synergy88’s booth in the middle. They had partnered up with World of Fun and are featuring Kuna, a Virtual Reality game developed locally by none other than Synergy 88 Studios Inc. They even feature a space to exhibit their Motion Capture (MoCap for short) during APCC. It was so cool! And I’m forever thanking my lucky stars I got to try it out. More on the Motion Capture of Synergy at a later post!

There were a ton of cosplayers roaming around the events place. Even though the cosplay competition was to be held the day after, it didn’t hinder the fans from dressing up to show their fandom love. I was not an exception!

I had scrounged up a closet cosplay of Asami Sato from the series Avatar: the Book of Korra. I actually came as Asami because my friends were planning to make an Avatar meet-up session during the second day of APCC and I wanted to be part of the fun! Honestly, that meet up was a big reason why I chose to attend APCC’s second day instead of the other two.

I was pleasantly surprised that the crowd during APCC were very polite! They asked nicely if they could take your photos, left you alone when they saw you resting, and most of all, I haven’t heard a peak from anyone claiming to be harassed. It was a great crowd for sure!

It was a policy in WTC to not let food or drinks inside the venue. The solution they thought of for that was kiosks were established right outside, near the parking grounds. I think it was a brilliant solution. The food smell would have permeated the area and it would be messy. Tossed wrappers, spilled drinks, marks from god-knows-what. It would have been terrible. Although it was sweltering hot outside, I think its a better alternative to the mess it would have otherwise created in the event itself.

At the end of it all, to finish off the day, they had a fireworks show. It was mesmerizing as all fireworks are. It was impressive though I wish it had lasted longer.

Asia Pop Comic Convention isn’t perfect, though. I have heard complaints from people who had rented out booths that there were miscommunications. There were also cases of stolen properties, not just from the con-goers, but the guests were victims of burglary, too.

Through the hiccups, I personally had a blast in the event! I’d like to give my congratulations to the management and event organizers of APCC. I had a lot of fun and I have heard frequent positive feedback about the convention. I applaud you for coming to Manila and holding this very big event. I hope to see you again next year and I wish that this could be a more regular thing.